At a time when the world seems a lot scarier for LGBTQ+ youth, Elton John and Brandi Carlile are bringing a little hope to the table.

On Wednesday, March 5, the duo released “Swing for the Fences,” the latest single from their upcoming collaborative album, Who Believes in Angels? According to Carlile, the rollicking, upbeat track is meant to inspire queer kids to dream big.

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“‘Swing For The Fences’ was a little gem I took into the studio with me: I’m a gay woman, Elton’s a gay man, and we both have families, and our dreams have come true,” Carlile says. “I was thinking, wouldn’t it be cool to write an anthem for young gay kids out there that calls them into a bigger, more elegant, more fabulous life. Just like ‘go, go! Don’t let anything hold you back!’”

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John, meanwhile, says recording the song “crystallized” the direction of the new album.

“It was hard to get to that point, but we knew we had to rise to the occasion, and we all just felt this massive sense of joy and euphoria,” he explains. “After our initial difficulties, all the uncertainties started to dissipate when this song came together. It just sounded great.”

Carlile told Them that the song’s message to queer kids is: “You can go all the way because we’re behind you, and there are generations of queer people behind you.”

“The great thing about young people is their spirit and their desire to be heard and to not take no for an answer,” John added.

In an interview with Apple Music, Carlile said that the song’s position on the album is also significant.

“You’ve got songs about Laura Nyro and Little Richard, who are sort of our queer predecessors, right? They sort of came before Elton and I in many ways and weren’t allowed, really, I think to fully walk through the world unabashedly as gay people,” she explained. “And then we’ve got this song that’s kind of an anthem of encouragement to LGBTQ youth. I think it’s a really interesting way to follow up the lives of those two icons that influenced us so much that I think who, deep down, we wish could have walked through the world the way that we’re getting to walk through the world now.”

“Hopefully it can help those marginalized kids and those young people right now, and they can look to me and Elton and they can go, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna be ok.’ Because we’ve got their back,” she added.

“Swing for the Fences” is the second song John and Carlile have released ahead of Who Believes in Angels? The duo announced the new album last month along with the title track.

John described the album as a turning point in his long career. “This record was one of the toughest I’ve ever made, but it was also one of the greatest musical experiences of my life,” he said, according to NME. “It has given me a place where I know I can move forward. Who Believes in Angels? feels like going into another era and I’m pushing the door open to come into the future.”

Along with the video for the title track, John and Carlile released the trailer for a documentary about the making of the album. The film marks the first time the “Rocket Man” icon has allowed cameras into the recording studio for film the entire tumultuous 20-day recording process with Carlile and long-time collaborators Bernie Taupin and Andrew Watt.

“The world is a wild place to live in right now. It’s hard to find peace and triumph,” Carlile said. “It’s a radical act to seek out joyful and euphoric happenings. And that is what this album represents to me.”

Who Believes in Angel? is due out on April 4.

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